William Peter Norton United Methodist Church Collection

Collection

Identifier: A3273

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

William Peter Norton collected reports, news articles, and conference materials relating to the issues before the 2019 General Conference of The United Methodist Church held in St. Louis. Items date from 2018 to 2019 and are arranged alphabetically by topic. In July 2016, the Council of Bishops selected thirty-two members to serve on the Commission on a Way Forward. The members represented nine countries and were a combination of bishops, clergy, and laity. It worked closely with the Council of Bishops before presenting its report to the General Conference. The report includes summaries and analyses for three plans to be considered: One Church Plan, Connectional Conference Plan, and the Traditionalist Plan. General Conference materials include two issues of daily newsletters and a guide to prayer. There are lists of petitions passed at the General Conference and actions taken by the Judicial Council in April 2019. The numerous news articles are printed from online sources, some from UMNews.org, and are arranged chronologically within the folders. The final item in the collection is a brochure for the conference in Belleville, Illinois, sponsored by The Academy for Spiritual Formation and the Illinois Great Rivers Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Dates

2018-2019

Creator

Norton, William Peter (Collector, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Historical Sketch

The United Methodist Church held its General Conference at America's Center in downtown St. Louis from February 23 to February 27, 2019. The General Conference is the highest legislative body in The United Methodist Church and usually convenes every four years to determine the denomination’s future direction. Between 600 and 1000 delegates are elected from across the world: half clergy and half lay members. Delegates consider revisions to church law and the official ritual of the church and adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy, and economic issues. The General Conference also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs for the next four years. In 2019, delegates met three years after the previous General Conference to discuss bans within the church on same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT clergy. After days of debate, the conservative proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was passed by a vote of 438-384. Opponents had supported a One Church Plan that would have allowed local churches to choose their own stance. The vote set up a potential for schism in the Methodist Church as LGBT-friendly communities faced the decision to follow the official church stance or to break from the organization. William Peter Norton is a Methodist minister in St. Charles County, Missouri, and attended the General Conference. He took photographs at the meeting and collected the items in this collection.